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1816IIHF News from www.iifh.comTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssWed, 23 May 2018 11:49:00 +0200Generation conquerorshttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3383/generation-conquerors
Swiss silver heroes striving for moreIt was a tough night from Sunday to Monday for the Swiss national team. They beat Finland and Canada in the final round before losing in a shootout to Sweden in the gold medal game. They played with heart. Hearts as big as Mount Matterhorn, as Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet praised the Swiss team. But the players can still be proud of their extra-ordinary performance.

Since returning to the top division in 1998 after a four-decade long struggle to keep up with the elite nations, the Swiss men’s national team has for most of the time been a middle-class team among the top-16 that was 8th in the IIHF Men’s World Ranking, sometimes – like after the recent success – 7th, sometimes 9th.

Sometimes there was an exception towards the top like fourth place on home ice in 1998 or fifth place in 2010, sometimes there was a flop year like 11th place in 2012 and 2016. But most recently the good seasons have become better. Switzerland tied its all-time best placing, the silver medal of 1935, with second-place finishes in 2013 and 2018. Only Sweden was able to stop the Swiss in both finals. And this year the Swiss were closer than ever to winning gold for the first time in hockey history. What happened to the Swiss that they reached the gold medal game twice in five years?

The upward trend over the last decades started at home. Being a hockey player was not really a profession in Switzerland until the late ‘80s. Most players were semi-professionals and worked or studied during the day and had practice and games in the evening. That kept Switzerland at the second or third level of the hockey world for most of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. The same happened in football where Switzerland has qualified for most big events since 1994 while being absent for almost three decades before.

Switzerland’s National League has become one of the most attractive hockey leagues in Europe and the profession of being a professional player became something to strive for if you’re a good teenage hockey player. The import quota in the league helps Swiss players to develop at the top domestic level and earn good money. But in combination with the big money available in Switzerland, it also created little incentives for Swiss players to strive for more – for the National Hockey League. Of the first players who tried it, many returned after a few years. Why should they play for little money on a farm team with long road trips if they could earn five times more and sleep at home after a road game back home in Switzerland?

This mentality has changed. More players try to make the NHL, more NHL scouts have an eye on Switzerland and in Copenhagen they might have seen even more future NHLers on the Swiss roster. At the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship we saw a new generation of Swiss players. The generation that wants to conquer the world and follow the pioneers who made the NHL.

Goaltender David Aebischer became the first Swiss player who was on an NHL roster for a full season in 2000/2001 with the Colorado Avalanche. Other goalies like late-bloomers Martin Gerber and Jonas Hiller followed him. Defencemen and forwards were less lucky in the beginning and returned home after some time, including Patrick Fischer, the current national coach. When defenceman Mark Streit moved to North America in 2005 for a second time at age 27 and after continuing his development in Switzerland, he became the first Swiss skater to leave an impact in the NHL in the years to come. Others followed. Roman Josi is among the top defencemen in the NHL and gets the most ice time at the Nashville Predators. Nino Niederreiter became the first Swiss forward with over 30 points in a season in 2013/2014 after moving to the Minnesota Wild. He was joined into the 30+ club by Sven Baertschi last season and by Nico Hischier, Kevin Fiala and Timo Meier this season. Hischier was drafted first overall last season and led all Swiss forwards in scoring already in his rookie season. 15 Swiss played an NHL game this season, more than ever.

These players were inspired by the first pioneers who dared to dream of the NHL, which is not a universe away anymore as the Swiss go head-to-head against NHL players at the Worlds, previously at the Olympics and at junior level, and also thanks to the internet. And this new generation will inspire more Swiss kids to work on becoming a world-class player.

The Swiss conquest is also represented behind the bench since 2015. When the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation was looking for a Swiss-made coaching staff and turned to Fischer, he was just 40 years old and recently fired by his first pro team as a head coach. The sceptics and doubters came fast and had their boom soon when Switzerland started into the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with losses to Kazakhstan and Norway and finished in 11th place. The Swiss scored 20 goals in seven games, more than usual, but they conceded 26, more than ever in the new millennium. The federation was behind Fischer but hired former NHL defenceman Tommy Albelin as a new assistant coach after the Worlds to bring in more experience and defensive expertise into a coaching staff dominated by former forwards.

The Swiss still had their ups and downs, this time even within a few months. They missed the quarter-finals at the Olympics but bounced back with silver at the Worlds. They played with braveness and offence and scored 33 goals in 10 games. In the newer history they only scored more, 35, during the other silver-medal campaign in 2013. It’s obvious: the Swiss don’t want to defend themselves into the quarter-finals like in the past but want to be playmakers, want to be brave.

Swiss national coach Fischer is not known as being introvert. His former teammate Lars Weibel, now a TV expert, at Monday’s reception reminded of an anecdote when Fischer as a player after Salt Lake City 2002 said about the national team that he should “take over to lead it to the top”. And when he indeed took it over as a head coach many years later, he said Swiss players should not dream about making the quarter-finals – usually the criteria between success and flop in the eyes of Swiss hockey fans and media – but about winning gold. People laughed about his dream but now the Swiss were just one penalty shot shy from beating Sweden for gold. He brought braveness and dreams into the national team influenced in a country of an otherwise rather reserved mentality.

“Three months ago we were morons, now we are apparently heroes. I’m not a moron and not a hero. We are just athletes who try to give our best. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not so much,” Fischer told Swiss broadcaster SRF.

For the Swiss team almost everything worked out in Copenhagen. Six NHL players and some others who spent most time on the farm team joined their colleagues from domestic play on the World Championship roster and were difference makers on the defence (Roman Josi, Mirco Muller) and offensively (Sven Andrighetto, Kevin Fiala, Timo Meier, Nino Niederreiter) thanks to the NHL intensity they brought in. Both goaltenders, Leonardo Genoni (91.52%) and Reto Berra (91.67%), were strong. Behind every successful World Championship or Olympic campaign of a Swiss national team in any category, the goaltender was a big part of the story.

The euphoria is big in Switzerland. On Sunday night up to 1.418 people watched the gold medal game on the biggest of the Swiss broadcasters, SRF, which was a 73.3 per cent market share in their market.

“The reception is incredible. I’m proud to be part of the team. It’s a small consolation after losing the final,” Sven Andrighetto told hockeyfans.ch after landing in Zurich. “We will need a couple of days to realize that we didn’t lose gold but won silver.”

The line between success and disappointment is small though and the Swiss try to limit the euphoria despite the dreams of winning gold. Some say after missing it in a penalty-shot shootout that it’s just a matter of time until the time is ripe. Preferably in 2020 when the Swiss will host the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Zurich and Lausanne.

“I hope one day it will be a World Championship title,” two-time silver medallist Josi told SRF. “We played with a healthy portion of confidence, we had many young players who played with naughtiness, who played in credible. The future looks bright for sure.”

“I hope one day we will get a third chance but I hope not against Sweden,” coach Fischer told SRF.

But for now it was time to say good-bye for the Swiss to the old hockey season and to the team.

“[Our team] is a crazy hockey family that gelled together with in a short time. They’re young but still mature. This team was wow. I will miss it,” Fischer said to Blick.

MARTIN MERK]]>on topWorldsMen19 SwitzerlandWed, 23 May 2018 11:49:00 +0200Kings of the gardenhttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3375/kings-of-the-garden
Thousands came to see back-to-back world championsThe public celebration of a championship is an integral part of the championship team’s journey. While the Swedish national team has had the opportunity to celebrate hockey championship several times in the last twenty years, the parade hasn’t always taken the same route.

In 1998, when Peter and Kent Forsberg danced at Sergels torg, in 2006, the Olympic gold medallists met the people at Medborgarplatsen and the world champions in Kungstradgarden, the King’s Garden. In 2013, the Sedins brought the trophy to Kungstradgarden, but last year, the champs were back at Sergels torg.

No matter where the parade is held, though, one thing is guaranteed. If you win it, they will come and on Monday, 21 May 2018 – five years after the 2013 parade to the day – they all came. The short and the tall, old and young, business men and women in smart suits and the millennials in summer dresses and shorts. The cafés lining the park avenue were filled with people who enjoyed the warm spring weather and refreshments as thousands gathered to watch the hockey heroes take the stage, full of happiness and joy, as the crowd took turns in singing the national anthem, and the team’s goal song.

Team captain Mikael Backlund hoisted the World championship trophy from the Kungstradgarden as the new kings of the garden came out to greet the people and to thank them for their support.

“The trophy is pretty heavy so things got sweaty at the airport,” he said when asked about it.

“This is a fantastic group. The team showed unbelievable character and morale, we gave this everything we’ve got from day one,” he added.

Last time Mika Zibanejad was on the Kungstradgarden stage as the overtime hero of the World Juniors team in 2012, it was freezing cold. This time, it was about 35 degrees warmer outside.

Zibanejad got big cheers from the crowd for being a native of Stockholm, just like his linemates Mattias Janmark and Rickard Rakell, who is from Sollentuna, a suburb just north of Stocholm. Zibanejad’s cheers got even louder when he told people what he was going to do with the gold medal bonus he’s going to receive from the federation.

“I’ll donate it to youth hockey in Stockholm,” he said, and then gave the crowd a taste of his other talents, as he burst into a Zlatan Ibrahimovic impersonation.

“There are two Zs in Sweden now,” he said, with a huge grin on his face.

While Sweden had 13 players who made their World Championship debut, there were three players – John Klingberg, Dennis Everberg, and Oliver Ekman Larsson - who got to win the gold two years in a row.

Assistant coach Johan Garpenlov became the first Swede to have won back-to-back World Championship gold medals both as a player and a coach as he played on the 1991 and 1992 teams.

Besides players and coaches, there was another hero on the stage, one that had been on all the stages all over town in the last twenty years. Equipment manager Anders Weiderstal celebrated his eighth World championship gold. He began his career at Tre Kronor in 1984, and announced earlier this year that he’d step down after the season.

“Working with young kids like these is good for an old man like myself,” he said as he addressed the crowd, uncharacteristically in a suit.

“We’ve worked hard together. The coaches work hard and the players are dedicated to the cause. Nobody ever complains because hockey is the best thing they know – which is inspiring to the rest of us on the staff,” he said.

And, obviously, the rest of us.

RISTO PAKARINEN]]>on leftWorldsMen18 SwedenTue, 22 May 2018 16:52:00 +0200Groups for 2019http://2019.iihfworlds.com/en/news/groups-for-2019/
Slovaks to play in Kosice, Czechs in Bratislava Host Slovakia selected to play the preliminary round in Kosice in Group A that further includes Canada, the first-ranked team in the IIHF Men’s World Ranking, recent bronze medallist United States, Finland, Olympic silver medallist Germany, Denmark, France and Great Britain, which last month earned promotion in dramatic fashion for its first top-level participation since 1994.

Group B will be played in the capital of Bratislava in close proximity to two of the participating countries, the Czech Republic and Austria. The group also includes defending champion Sweden, Russia, silver medallist Switzerland, Norway, Latvia and Italy, the other promoted team.

The groups are based on the 2018 IIHF Sport Regulations and the 2018 IIHF Men’s World Ranking established following the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with one horizontal swap to accommodate special organizational needs and geographical considerations.

Slovakia with the cities of Bratislava and Kosice will host the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship for the second time after 2011. Bratislava was also a co-host in 1959 and 1992 during the Czechoslovak era.

A city of 650,000 inhabitants in the region, the Slovak capital of Bratislava has 4.2 million people in a 100-kilometre radius including Vienna. The Ondrej Nepela Arena, home of Slovak Bratislava of the KHL, has a capacity of 10,040 seats for hockey and two practice rinks under the same roof.

Kosice is the country’s second-largest city with a population of 240,000. The Steel Arena offers 8,347 seats and an additional ice sheet for practices. It’s home to HC Kosice of the Slovak Extraliga.

Each venue will host 28 games in the preliminary round and two quarter-finals. The final weekend with the semi-finals and the medal games will be held in Bratislava.

The game schedule of the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be established in the upcoming months. Ticket sale is expected to start in September. More details will be announced on the official website 2019.iihfworlds.com, which is available in English and Slovak.

Groups of the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Group A Group B (Kosice) (Bratislava)

"It is amazing to win at this level," said Worlds rookie Lias Andersson. "I am so happy right now. To win the way we did in the shootout feels so good. To end the season like this is unbelievable."

Winning gold via the shootout under head coach Rikard Gronborg has become a habit for the boys in blue and yellow. Tre Kronor last won back-to-back titles in 1991 (Turku) and 1992 (Prague).

"We would have wanted to win in regulation, but we knew that this would be a tough game," said Forsberg. "They pushed all their opponents in the tournament to tight games. They had a great defence and their goalie played great. We knew it was going to take a lot to get it done."

In regulation time, Gustav Nyqvist and Mika Zibanejad scored for Sweden. Nino Niederreiter and Timo Meier scored for Switzerland, while Roman Josi added two assists.

The underdog Swiss tragically missed their chance to win their first World Championship ever. While this was a huge achievement after only making the quarter-finals twice in the preceding four years, the loss will still sting for a long time. You just couldn't come any closer to success.

"I'm so proud of this team and what we've done the last two weeks," said Genoni. "But at the moment, I can hear the Swedes celebrating behind us, so it's hard."

Nilsson, who made the tournament all-star team, entered with a tournament-leading 1.00 GAA and 95.9 save percentage. The towering 28-year-old Lulea native was well-protected in Denmark with an NHL-loaded defence corps, including fellow all-stars Ekman-Larsson and Adam Larsson, but he also rebounded after a lackluster season with the Vancouver Canucks.

"The goalie is the backbone of your team, so if he is playing well it makes it so much easier for the rest of the team to play well," said Hampus Lindholm. "That is what Nilsson did for us. He had a great tournament."

"I don't know if I have the words for it," said Nilsson, who cancelled a planned vacation in L.A. to join the team. "It's a great feeling, I'm just happy."

The Swedes went wire-to-wire without losing a game. And although the Canadians finished fourth with a disappointing 4-1 bronze medal loss to the United States earlier, the motherland of hockey provided a subtext to this game.

Last year, Nicklas Backstrom got the shootout winner as Sweden edged Canada 2-1 for gold in Cologne. Canada was also the last nation to win back-to-back titles (2015, 2016).

It was a big bounceback for both Sweden and Switzerland after February's PyeongChang Olympics. There, Germany shocked Switzerland 2-1 in the qualification playoffs and Sweden 4-3 in the quarterfinals, both in overtime.

"We are proud having silver, but still it sucks," said Switzerland's Mirco Muller. "We were so close going up in the shootout. It is a tough loss. Really proud of the guys, obviously. It will mean something after a few weeks pass by."

This was a rematch of the 2013 World Championship final in Stockholm. There, Josi was named tournament MVP with another Cinderella squad, but Tre Kronor triumphed 5-1 with the help of late arrivals Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The victory broke the 27-year-old Worlds “home ice curse,” which dated back to the 1986 Soviet gold medal in Moscow.

This final attracted an enthusiastic sellout crowd of 12,490, dominated by yellow Tre Kronor jerseys, but also featuring lots of Swiss red and cowbells. It was a fitting climax to a tournament that exceeded expectations by selling more than 500,000 tickets."It was amazing to come onto the ice to see so many Swedish fans," said Johan Larsson. "We enjoyed it. They've been awesome the whole tournament. It was a good game, a hard-fought game. We're really happy we came up with a victory. It's unbelievable."

The Swedes quickly settled into their puck possession groove, but the first good chance went to Niederreiter, who nearly finished off a three-way passing play on the rush by Nilsson’s right post. Seconds later, Viktor Arvidsson, who scored twice in the 6-0 semi-final win over the Americans, got in behind the Swiss defence. He had Genoni beaten with his deke, but backhanded the puck wide through the crease.

At 11:25, Niederreiter took the first penalty when he high-sticked Arvidsson deep in the Swiss zone. The Swedes peppered Genoni with shots, but couldn’t break through.

Atoning for his error, Niederreiter opened the scoring at 16:38. Off a faceoff at the Swedish blue line, Josi carried the puck into the Swiss zone and lost it in a thicket of Swedish defenders, but the Minnesota Wild veteran followed up and pushed it past a surprised Nilsson.

Tre Kronor struck back just 1:16 later. With Hornqvist providing the screen in front, Nyqvist knocked down a Mattias Ekholm pass in the high slot and flung the puck over Genoni’s glove. The teams went to the dressing rooms tied 1-1 despite Sweden’s 13-7 edge in shots.

Early in the second period, Nyqvist played the goat when he high-sticked Ramon Untersander, Switzerland’s top-scoring defenceman. The power play looked like it would pass uneventfully – until Enzo found a wide-open Meier streaking down right wing. The San Jose Sharks youngster unleashed a wrister from the faceoff circle that beat Nilsson under his stick arm to make it 2-1 at 3:13. It was the first Swiss shot of the period with 10 seconds left in the man advantage.

"Switzerland beat both Finland and Canada, so we knew they had a great team," said Mikael Wikstrand.

Even though the recently retired Sedins aren’t here, the Swedes hemmed Switzerland in with great Sedin-style cycling for long stretches after the midway point. It paid off with Zibanejad’s 2-2 power play goal at 14:53 after Corvi went off for holding. Ekman-Larsson sent the puck cross-ice to the New York Rangers star, and he fired a wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle that sailed home.

"We had the puck a lot," said Arvidsson. "We stayed in their zone a lot. They did a great job defending, and their goalie was really good. We had some great plays, we had to bear down on them, but we stayed with it, and I think we had the puck more of the time."

Nilsson redeemed himself for the iffy Meier goal when he made huge, back-to-back blocker saves on Sven Andrighetto and Simon Moser in the last two minutes of the middle frame. At the other end, Genoni came out to stop Arvidsson’s slap shot on a 2-on-1 rush just before the buzzer.

The third period was cautiously played until Swedish captain Mikael Backlund stole the puck from Meier at centre and burst in for a backhand attempt. Josi hauled him down as Genoni made a left pad save, and the Swedish power play went to work again at the seven-minute mark. Solid positional play denied the Swedes.

However, in a weird sequence, Josi went straight back into the penalty box because he had failed to exit it completely. He got an interference play for touching the puck while still standing inside the penalty box gate. Outraged by the call, the Swiss fans whistled deafeningly.

On the ensuing man advantage, Ekman-Larsson exploded down the middle on a solo rush and got shaken up when he crashed into the goal post and the end boards. However, the Arizona Coyotes workhorse would carry on. The Swedes got one more mind-blowing chance in the final minute of the third when Ekholm streaked in unopposed, but couldn't beat Genoni.

Ekman-Larsson also had a superb chance near the eight-minute mark of overtime when Rakell found him with a back pass on the rush, but Genoni was there again as Ekman-Larsson went flying over a Swiss defender. A few minutes later, the Swiss goalie made a great glove grab on John Klingberg's quick release from the high slot.

The Swiss came within a hair's-breadth of victory when Kukan centered it from behind the goal line to Fiala in the slot, forcing Nilsson into a stunning glove save. At the other end, Larsson hammered one off the goal post with under three seconds left in sudden-death.

"There was so much drama!" said Sweden's Magnus Paajarvi. "We couldn't get the lead early. We felt we should have, and then when we didn't we started to play a little tight and then it went to overtime and a shootout and you don't know what will happen. It's great to win."

This was Sweden's 11th IIHF World Championship gold medal of all time.

Prior to 2013's silver, all the Swiss World Championship medals came prior to the modern era of international hockey that kicked off with the Soviet Union's golden 1954 Worlds debut: silver in 1935, and bronze in 1930, 1937, 1939, 1950, 1951, and 1953.

"It is hard to see the big picture right now," said Joel Vermin. "It is just very disappointing for now. We can be proud of ourselves. Each and every one played a hell of a tournament. It was a real team effort. We will need a few weeks for this to kind of sink in."

"It's a perfect way to end the year," said Arvidsson.

With Sweden and Switzerland facing off for gold twice in six years, this could mark a new rivalry in international hockey. Where will it go next? Can the Swedes three-peat? Will the Swiss be back for more? Join us again for the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Slovakia (Bratislava and Kosice).

LUCAS AYKROYD]]>on topWorldsMen18 Sweden19 Switzerlandon leftSun, 20 May 2018 23:59:00 +0200Power Rankingshttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3325/power-rankings-20-may
Sweden on top in final Power Rankings of 20181 SWE Like Foppa taught us, there ain’t no gold like shootout gold 2 SUI Nazareth sang “Love Hurts,” we sing “Silver Hurts” 3 USA We shall cast a statue of Kane in bronze 4 CAN As Neil Young said, “It’s better to burn out than fade away” 5 FIN Our 2011 team was so good that Patrik Laine didn’t make it 6 RUS Comrades, our stickhandling needs to be fancier 7 CZE Jaromir? Have you been working out? 8 LAT We’re loud, we’re proud, and you took more penalties than us 9 SVK Thanks for the memories, Marian: here’s to new ones in 2019 10 DEN Duckly quacks “Thank you!” 520,481 times 11 GER Nobody’s perfect – just ask Bayern 12 FRA Denmark is nice, but we prefer Belarus and Austria 13 NOR At this level, we can’t rely on our Nordic good looks 14 AUT Sacher Torte > baked beans 15 BLR We shall return – with bigger mustaches 16 KOR Our peaceful people dream of the day when no one loses 13-1!

Click here to check out the previous editions of the Power Rankings.

The Power Rankings are for the enjoyment of IIHF.com readers, and reflect the progress of teams during the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. They are distinct from the official standings and IIHF World Ranking.]]>on leftWorldsMenon rightSun, 20 May 2018 23:58:00 +0200Canada leads World Rankinghttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3324/canada-leads-world-ranking
Sweden, USA, Switzerland move up Beating Russia in the quarter-finals was crucial for Canada to defend first place as the Russians were second in the ranking. Not anymore. Sweden moved up to second place after winning the Worlds in Copenhagen, Russia is down to third.

Thanks to the bronze-medal win in Copenhagen, the United States moved up two spots to fourth place at the expense of Finland and the Czech Republic.

Switzerland, which lost seventh spot to Germany in February after the Germans’ silver-medal win at the Olympics, reclaimed seventh place thanks to winning silver in Copenhagen while Germany is 8th with a big gap to followers Norway and Slovakia, who complete the top-10.

Thanks to reaching the quarter-finals, Latvia moved up to 11th place. Also World Championship host Denmark moved up two spots and is now 12th before France, Belarus, Slovenia, Korea and Austria.

The Men’s World Ranking now includes 50 countries with the recent addition of Turkmenistan and Kuwait in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

Click here for the full 2018 IIHF Men’s World Ranking.

The 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will take place in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia, 10-26 May 2019. The groups will be announced next week.

MARTIN MERK]]>on leftWorldsMenon rightSun, 20 May 2018 23:57:00 +0200Kane named MVP, attendance 7th all timehttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3317/captain-kane-named-mvp
Tre Kronor dominates All-Star Team selectionsDanish goalitender Fredrik Anderson, playing in his hometown of Herning, was named Directorate Award Best Goalie.

This year's World Championship, held in Denmark for the first time, attracted a whopping 520,481 fans to the 64 games, the 7th-highest total of all time.

Sweden's John Klingberg was named Directorate Award Best Defenceman, and his teammates took four of the six spots on the All-Star Team. Anders Nilsson was All-Star goaltender, leading the tournament with three shutouts, and both defencemen were Swedes--Adam Larsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Finland's Sebastian Aho was named Best Forward by the directorate and made the All-Star Team as well.

The complete list of awards is as follows:

Directorate Awards

Best Goaltender--Frederik Andersen (DEN)

Best Defenceman--John Klingberg (SWE)

Best Forward--Sebastian Aho (FIN)

Media All-Star Team

Goaltender--Anders Nilsson (SWE)

Defencemen--Adam Larsson (SWE)/Oliver Ekman-Larsson (SWE)

Forwards--Rickard Rakell (SWE)/Patrick Kane (USA)/Sebastian Aho (FIN)

MVP

Patrick Kane (USA)

ANDREW PODNIEKS]]>WorldsMenon left18 Sweden20 United Stateson rightSun, 20 May 2018 23:56:00 +0200Bronze for Team USAhttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3294/bronze-for-team-usa
Kreider scores two, Kane reaches 20 points for the tournament The decisive goal came with six minutes left to play. Patrick Kane’s slapshot took a deflection on its way to McIlhenney’s pads and bounced away kindly for Nick Bonino to spring into action and push the puck into an empty net. That put the Americans 2-1 up and on the way to securing hardware for the first time since 2015’s bronze-medal campaign in the Czech Republic.

It was also a significant landmark for Kane. His assist brought up 20 points for the tournament, the first time a player has reached that tally since Danny Heatley (12+8) for Canada in 2008. Kane is also poised to become the first American player to top the scoring race since 1949, when centre Bruce Mather led the way with 19 goals as the USA took bronze in Stockholm.

Kane's focus was very much on the team's achievement, though. "When you look at the tournament overall and you can say you beat Canada twice and came home with a bronze medal, you probably think you’d do a little bit better than that," he said. "But you know, it was a tough loss for us yesterday. It was very important for us to come back.

"I thought the coaches did a great job of regrouping us and getting us ready for this game and showing us how important it was not to come out today and lay an egg. It was important for us to play hard and try to come home with something in this tournament."

There were still some nervous moments for the U.S. Ryan O'Reilly, Canada's quarter-final hero, almost delivered another crucial blow with two minutes left. The puck dropped kindly for the Buffalo forward, but he squirted his shot wide of the mark. That miss was punished by Lee, who fired into the empty net from his own zone to wrap up the win for the Americans. Kreider then made absolutely sure with a fourth goal for the USA.

For goalie Keith Kincaid, the win was especially significant following the sudden death of USA Hockey stalwart Jim Johannson in January.

"We had to throw out yesterday’s game and refocus. I think we did that today," he said. "We knew it was a big game and a big game for USA Hockey with the passing of Jim Johannson. Coming away with a medal for him and the program is huge."

Charlie McCoy also paid tribute to Johansson after the game. "What an unbelievable guy. He did so much for USA Hockey and we know he would be happy winning the bronze today," he said. "If he were here, he would give everyone a big hug and thank us for coming. His brother John is here and he said after the game that JJ would be proud. That moves me emotionally and I am so happy I came over here and happy to win a bronze for the United States."

Bronze-medal games can sometimes feel like a chore for two teams still coming to terms with the abrupt crash of their championship dreams. That emotion is often intensified when the play-off pits opponents which harboured genuine hopes of winning it all and the opening period here was an illustration of precisely that.

It wasn’t that it was a poor game, exactly, but the early exchanges stubbornly refused to ignite in the manner we’ve come to expect from USA-Canada clashes of yore. The Americans made the brighter start and bossed the game for the first 10 minutes. Then a penalty on Connor Murphy brought Canada to the table – albeit only after a Dylan Larkin intercept in centre ice created a short-handed rush that drew a good save from Curtis McElhinney. Ironically, Kincaid’s most eye-catching moment of the first frame also came with his team on the power play. Bo Horvat was bearing down on the net but Kincaid rushed from his crease to hack the puck to safety.

Murphy acknowledged that Canada seemed deflated after losing to Switzerland last night. "It didn’t seem like they had a lot of energy," he said. "They had a late game last night. So we were able to keep some good pressure and get a lot of power plays. That seemed to control some of their high-end guys from getting too many chances. So that was important, and it was a timely power play at the end that we were able to get the win off."

Canada's Ryan O'Reilly also admitted that it was hard to prepare for this game: "It’s a weird situation. Obviously, we come in here and we expect gold. We expect to compete for gold. When you don’t, it’s disappointing. Trying to get up for the game, we still wanted to beat the U.S. and prove we’re a better team. But we just didn’t have the jump. You could tell, we just seemed heavy."

The opening goal took time to arrive but the USA finally turned its supremacy into a goal in the 27th minute. But while Chris Kreider’s finish – calmly dragging the puck around McElhinney’s outstretched leg – was composed, there was a kindly bounce on the play as Dylan Larkin’s feed into the Canadian zone got tangled up in Connor McDavid’s skates present Kreider with the chance for his third of the tournament.

Nick Bonino then got a great pass from Johnny Gaudreau and wriggled in front of Josh Bailey as he bore down on McElhinney’s net. This time, though, there was no space to squeeze the puck past the Canadian goalie. Canada was still struggling to create clear openings, but Matt Barzal almost fashioned one when he moved along the goal line to shoot from the doorstep. Kinkaid made a fumbling save but recovered to deny Ryan O’Reilly a sniff of the rebound.

The game threatened to change course late in the second period. The Americans carved out a glorious chance to go 2-0 up when Bonino slid the puck across the face of the net for Nick Jensen at the back door, but the defenceman’s shot found the side netting and bounced to safety. Canada came straight back up the ice and swiftly punished that miss.

Vlasic got the tying goal, collecting a Bo Horvat feed between the hash marks and shooting home through traffic. In the space of 15 seconds, Canada went from staring down the barrel of a two-goal deficit to being right back in the game.

But the third period saw the USA take control in the closing stages and leave Denmark with the bronze medals. Canada, for the first time since 2014, goes away from a World Championship with no hardware.

For Canadian captain McDavid, whose previous World Championship campaign peaked with him grabbing the opening goal in the gold-medal game in Moscow, missing out was tough: "It's disappointing. It's not the result we wanted. We spent the better part of a month together and came together. To not win is disappointing.

"I thought we did a good job at the start of getting into the game, but ultimately it came down to power plays and they scored a late one."

ANDY POTTS]]>WorldsMenon right20 United StatesSun, 20 May 2018 23:55:00 +0200A golden rematchhttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3272/a-golden-rematch
Five years on, Sweden and Switzerland go head-to-head Five years on, the two will meet again in Copenhagen. This time, though, the Swiss are looking to be more than a brave runner-up.

Nino Niederreiter was part of that 2013 roster – and he has unfinished business with the Swedes after losing the final in Stockholm.

“The toughest memory was seeing them wearing those gold medals after they won,” said the 25-year-old. “That’s something that still hurts. Hopefully tomorrow we can do the same thing to them.

“Five years ago it was such a huge moment for Swiss hockey. Sometimes you never know if that’s ever going to happen again but now we’re here again. It’s terrific for us, it’s a big stepping stone for Swiss hockey and that’s something we can be very proud of but it is a big game and we have to get up, play with confidence and you never know what’s going to happen.”

The teams met earlier in the competition, with Sweden winning a group phase game 5-3. Since then, Mattias Ekholm and Filip Forsberg have come into the Tre Kronor line-up, but Switzerland pushed hard throughout that game, almost managing to claw back a 0-3 deficit before falling in the final minutes. Niederreiter remembers a difficult opponent, but not an invincible one.

“They’re a great team, highly skilled,” he added. “It’s going to be a tough game. But we have to focus on us, try to do the little things that make us successful and go from there.”

For Kevin Fiala, meanwhile, 2013 is a date with different implications – but still with a strong Swedish accent. The Nashville forward, now 21, moved to Sweden that season to join the Malmo Redhawks system. Five years later he’s preparing for his first major final and, fittingly, it’s against the Swedes and just a 20-minute ride from his old home arena in Malmo.

“I love playing Sweden,” he said. “I moved there when I was 16 so it’s going to be a really big game for me. But I’m just going to focus on my game and try to win.”

Switzerland has gone under the radar for much of this tournament. In 2013, it blazed through the group stage without losing a game; here it produced some battling performances against the Group A favourites but still had to beat France in its final qualifying game to secure a quarter-final berth. Then, it all changed. Wins over Finland and Canada dismissed two highly-fancied teams. Leonardo Genoni impressed between the piping and a hard-working roster showed a great willingness to dig in and do the hard yards to neutralise the threat of players like Connor McDavid and Sebastian Aho. The goal threat has been shared around: Sven Andrighetto (2+7) and Timo Meier (1+5) are going for a point a game, 25-year-old Lugano forward Gregory Hofmann leads the goal scoring with four, including the crucial 2-1 goal in last night’s win over Canada.

For Sweden, blessed with a powerful offence and riding goaltending from Anders Nilsson that has come as a revelation to those who watched him struggle in Vancouver this season, it’s also a chance to do something special. Repeat champions are rare, but Rikard Gronborg’s team has been flawless so far in Copenhagen and has the feel of a gold-medal team.

For Magnus Paajarvi, back in World Championship action for the first time since 2011, this roster is better than the silver- and bronze-winning teams he played on in the past.

“Yes, it’s the best Swedish team I’ve ever been on,” Paajarvi said. “I think we’re fairly young but we’re established players. We’re not that many older guys but we still have a lot of experience in the team. It’s nice, we know each other really well and we’re working well together, but we’ve got one more game.”

Depth and aggression are making the difference, according to the players. Reinforced with arrivals from North America during the tournament, Sweden poses a threat throughout the roster.

Gustav Nyquist said: “I think a big part of it, we’re a deep team. We’ve got good guys all the way throughout the line-up. We can roll four lines, three D pairings so that’s been a big thing for us.”

Mattias Ekholm is another who is excited by the talented roster Sweden has brought across the Oresund. “I don’t think there’s much secret to it to our success so far,” he said. “Look at the roster, look at the line-up, look at the players who are here and see the energy, the speed that we play with. I think we’re a tough team to beat.”

That energy and aggression, triggering offensive explosions not always associated with Sweden’s game, is something that the team has learned from games where it struggled to put the opposition away. Those include the quarter-final against Latvia (3-2) and perhaps also that group game against the Swiss.

Paajarvi added: “We need to be aggressive. We weren’t that aggressive against Latvia, we were a little bit tight. Against the USA we said we needed to release and it’s true, we’re really good when we play aggressive hockey.”

The key component, without doubt, is the first line. Between them, Mika Zibanejad, Rickard Rakell and Mattias Janmark have shared 34 points in nine games. Second-line scoring from Mikael Backholm and Adrian Kempe has also been significant and there have been handy contributions from airlift additions: Viktor Arvidsson has three goals in four games, Patric Hornqvist two in four.

At the back, Anders Nilsson got hot at just the right time: his 41 saves in the 6-0 blanking of the USA in the semi-final recorded his third shut-out in six games here. He’s stopping more than 95% of the shots he’s facing to maintain a GAA of just one. That’s a big bounce back after suffering a GAA of 3.46 with the Canucks, his worst career season by that indicator.

For both of these teams, history beckons. By the end of Sunday night, we'll know which new chapter is going down in the record books.

ANDY POTTS ]]>on rightWorldsMen18 Sweden19 SwitzerlandSun, 20 May 2018 23:54:00 +0200IIHF Hall of Fame inducts new membershttp://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/3292/iihf-hall-of-fame-inducts-new-members
Eight builders and players are recognized The first player inducted on the day was Jere Lehtinen. Drafted by the Dallas Stars in 1992, Lehtinen established himself as an elite two-way player. He represented Finland five times at the Olympics and four times at the World Championships, helping Suomi win gold in 1995. Lehtinen played all 14 seasons in the NHL with the Dallas Stars leading his team to a Stanley Cup in 1999. Ken Hitchcock, who coached Lehtinen in Dallas, described him as the perfect hockey player.

“Whenever Jere was on the ice, things were under control,” Hitchcock shared with Miller when they recently spoke of Lehtinen. “If a player was playing poorly, put him on Jere’s line and that player would come right back.”

He was the closest Finn to the Triple Gold Club but a finals loss to Sweden at the 2006 Olympics prevented him from join that elite group.

“Being on international teams made me a better player,” said an emotional Lehtinen. “I’d like to thank my parents for supporting, feeding and taking care of me, and my brother for challenging me every day to be better. I’d also like to thank my wife and children, without you this would not be possible.”

Philippe Lacarriere joined his father Jacques as the only father and son inducted as into the IIHF Hall of Fame. Lacarriere played for the French national team and was captain from 1965 to 1967. In all, he represented France 68 times as a player. Lacarriere was the head of the hockey tournament at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Lacarriere served as a member of the IIHF’s Disciplinary Committee from 1990 to 1994, and at the end of that term was named to the IIHF Council, a position he held for two terms over nine years.

When he retired in 2010, Chris Chelios was the only player remaining in the NHL from the 1981 draft. He played 26 seasons and Olympics over three decades. He began his career with the Montreal Canadiens and won the Stanley Cup in his second full season. Chelios was a member of Team USA at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey when the Americans upset the Canadians to win one of their biggest international championships to date. Chelios congratulated his fellow inductees and thanked his family, coaches and members of the USA Hockey family. He also paid tribute to Jim Johansson.

"I would be remiss if I didn't mention a good friend that everybody in this room lost, Jim Johansson, who I went to school with and who I played hockey with and I wish he was here today to see this. No one was prouder to wear the jersey as he did for two Olympics and follow in his father's footsteps to represent his country as a player and in management. No one loved the game or his country more than Jim."

The Paul Loicq Award was presented to Kirovs Lipmans of Latvia. As President of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation, Lipmans helped guide Latvia from the C Pool in 1993, qualifying for the A Pool in 1997. Lipmans was instrumental in helping to develop hockey in his country. Lipmans has overseen the construction of arenas across the nation. Under his leadership, Lipmans has overseen the construction of many new facilities, including the one that hosted the 2006 World Championship in Riga. In 2001, Lipmans was awarded him the Order of the Three Stars (4th Class), the highest honour a Latvian can receive.

Rob Blake has won at every level. A member of the prestigious Triple Gold Club, Blake won a Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche. Prior to that, he won World Championship gold in 1994 and 1997 and was a member of Team Canada that won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, ending a half century without having done so.

"I was fortunate to play in a number of World Championships and Olympics. One of the greatest experiences was the first Olympics in Nagao, Japan in 1998. I think the decision that Hockey Canada made to have us stay in the Olympic Village was one of the best ideas to come about. For us to experience the other athletes, their training and preparation was a tremendous honour."

Bob Nadin made history of his own on the afternoon. Nadin won the Paul Loicq Award in 2007, and now he’s been inducted as a Builder. Nadin, refereed at the international level in Sapporo at the 1972 Olympics. Nadin was the CAHA (Canadian Amateur Hockey Association) referee-in-chief from 1976-86. From 1992 to 1996, Nadin was a supervisor for the NHL. With the IIHF he was part of the Rules and Referee Committee.

Denmark’s Jesper Damgaard received the Bibi Torriani Award. He played in 17 consecutive World Championships and helped advance the national team from the B Pool to the A Pool. He wore the captain’s C for eleven years and his number 7 was retired by the Danish federation.

"I am honoured and proud to be standing here today," said Daamgard. "If anyone said back then that Denmark would be hosting the World Championship and playing in the A Pool, I would be laughing at them. It was not believable but it is true."

He thanked the IIHF for "recognizing his journey with the national team."

Daniel Alfredsson was the final player inducted. Alfredsson played in five Olympics, winning gold with Sweden at the 2006 Torino tournament. He also played in seven World Championships, winning two silver and two bronze medals. In the NHL, Alfredsson played fourteen seasons and was captain of the Ottawa Senators. He led the team to the 2007 Stanley Cup finals. Alfredsson played in 1,246 regular season games.